Whatever You Need
by miss.SunFlower
Summary: A series of drabbles-bordering-on-oneshots focusing on the relationship between the faerie and her raven servant. Will jump around a lot - during or after the movie. Can be read as platonic or romantic depending on how you like them.
1. Love and Romance

Having seen Maleficent twice in the last week I think it's safe to say I ship Maleficent/Diaval something fierce. However, I ship them in a very... specific way - one the kind of toes the line between platonic and romantic love, and being quite comfortable leaving it undefined. So many of my fics will probably read as being platonic if you don't ship and romantic if you do. And I'll leave that to you. Enjoy :)

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"Ah, but it would be nice to find someone who looks at me the way Diaval looks at you"

Maleficent raised her eyebrows but said nothing. She had long since learned that Aurora would not let her romantic notions about she and Diaval go, no matter what either said about it.

It wasn't that Maleficent didn't care about her raven-man; one could not spend upwards of sixteen years with a constant companion and not feel anything for them. He amused her, comforted her, infuriated her and she didn't know where she'd be without him. And while she had freed him not long ago he'd shown no interest in leaving. But if there was anything breaking Aurora's curse had shown, it was that _love_ and _romance_ were not always the same thing, and didn't have to be. But there was no telling the young queen that, and even if she did it would likely do no good.

Instead, Diaval spoke up from where he'd reclined under a nearby tree and, until that moment, had appeared to be asleep. "How I look at her? What - In irritation? An odd wish for your future mate, my queen."

Aurora sighed, both exasperated and amused, but dropped it – at least for today – while Maleficent gave her one-time servant a knowing smirk. He winked and returned to his rest.

* * *

I'd seen a lot of 'the way Diaval looks at Maleficent' mentioned in fics and this has always been what I wanted his response to be.

Anyways, this is the first of numerous. I hope you like them!


	2. Ever Observant

Thanks so much everyone for the warm response - I hope I continue to impress! :)

This one takes place during the movie, a scene from our raven's eyes. Enjoy!

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Diaval was in the tree above his mistress, a raven, when Aurora came the day before her birthday – the day she had supposedly told her 'aunts' about her plan to live with Maleficent. Not long after they had seen her meet Phillip and argued. He suspected he would be staying a raven for some time after that; Maleficent was still too angry with him to let him speak to her.

Well, that was fine. He _was_ a raven, after all.

And he was still angry with her, too, he told himself. He _knew_ how badly Maleficent wanted to save Aurora's life, knew it from her heartbreak when she confessed her failed attempt to remove the curse, knew it from her joy when Aurora spoke of living in the Moors with her forever. Diaval was no fool –Maleficent didn't need to tell him her past for him to piece it together after years of observing her. And while it hurt, he knew she had no reason to believe in true love anymore. He had still thought, he had been sure, that his mistress would do anything, try _anything_, if it meant a chance at Aurora's survival. Yet, old scars kept her from using it.

But he stayed, as he always did, and listened as Aurora confronted her godmother. Saw the unguarded _pain_, the guilt and remorse in every line of his mistress's face at the betrayal and hurt in the gentle princess's eyes. As she ran from her and Maleficent fought back tears, Diaval forgave her their earlier fight – she would need him again, now that she had lost the one light she'd had in her life.

As he watched, she took a slow breath and her face hardened once more. Not in anger, as it had many times before, but something just as powerful. Determination. Diaval knew her thoughts.

He was already in the air when she called out: "Find the boy!"

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Diaval's equal concern for Maleficent and Aurora is very adorable, I think. A very loyal friend and godfather, that one. lol

Hope you liked it! :D


	3. Loyalty

I didn't plan to update twice in one day, truly I didn't! But I had the idea and I'm not patient enough to wait until morning to post. lol

This is another in-movie piece. Enjoy!

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At her fourth trip to the Moors, Aurora ventured a question. "And are you a faerie, too?"

The question was for Diaval, her- well, just _Diaval_, she supposed. For many years she had considered the raven her pet, a companion in her lonely childhood days. Now, having discovered he was a man – could become a man? She knew nothing of the logistics – she felt she shouldn't call him that anymore.

He grinned at the girl, still wiping mud off of his face from where her godmother had hit him. "No, I am but a simple raven, or was until my mistress found use of me." He glanced briefly at her godmother, sitting a ways off, the smallest of smiles on her face. Diaval smiled, too.

She perked up, eager to hear more. "How did she find you? What do you do for her? How long have-" She stopped when he raised his eyebrows.

"Curious little one, indeed," the raven-man muttered, but he sounded amused. She began to apologize but Diaval waved her off and laid out how her godmother had saved him from being beaten to death, and how he in return pledged loyalty to her. "To be her wings," he said.

Aurora was surprised that she had never noticed that her godmother did not have wings. She thought to ask about it, but stopped when she saw Diaval looked at his mistress again. She was looking past them, apparently lost in her own thoughts, her smile gone. Concern was apparent in his dark eyes and Aurora guessed that this was not something Diaval would answer, out of that undying loyalty he spoke of before.

She was more glad than disappointed, glad her godmother had him, as she sometimes worried that the faerie's days were as lonely as hers.

* * *

And here we have an example of why Aurora has romantic notions about these two. :P

As always, thank you for the comments and favorites!


	4. Protective Instinct

Hello. I've got a couple of these begun but unfinished. I have a feeling they'll be getting longer as I continue but I'm sure none of you will complain.

This one is early after Aurora's birth.

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His mistress was not as evil as she pretended to be. Diaval had once said as much; although all it resulted in was her scowl and his return to his mute, raven form. He still stood by it. After all, the occasional involuntary shifting when she was irritated was as harsh as her punishment went. After all, for all her asserting herself as ruler of her faerie kingdom, Diaval never once saw her use that authority to any end but the protection of the land and its folk.

Protection that she took _very_ seriously.

"Mistress, you're exhausted. When did you sleep last?" He inquired when Maleficent returned from a night protecting the Moors from Stephan's army. Not the first night, certainly not the last.

She glared, but made no move to change him. "Are you going to mother me alongside that little beast?"

"Someone has to."

"Well, save it," she said. She was annoyed, but Diaval could see more than anything she was tired.

"My mistress need only dismiss me," he said, stubborn. He was feeling particularly bold, perhaps because she wasn't transforming him.

She eyed him, thoughtful. "I could, you know. Turn you back into a raven and send you on your way. I'm more than capable of finding a new set of wings to do my bidding."

Diaval returned her gaze, unperturbed. "Why haven't you, then?" She wouldn't, of course, or else she would have long ago.

Maleficent finally looked away, up at a starry sky. "Too much work for a simple servant," she said, a failed attempt at sounding nonchalant. "And meanwhile, you'd end up in another farmer's net, no doubt." Abruptly she waved her hand, and Diaval was a raven again, unable to respond to that comment. Likely she was aware of what he might say and didn't want to hear it.

_No, she was not evil at all. _

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She's really not. Angry and bitter, sure. And very protective of those she cares about.

As always, thank you for the comments and favorites!


	5. This One Joy

As I'd guessed, this one did end up longer than the rest by a bit.

Mal's POV again.

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When Aurora was eleven years old, the pixies caught her playing with a raven, and fearful that he might be the same that had accompanied the wicked Maleficent to the christening – and indeed, might lead his mistress back to do more harm to the child – had angrily shooed the bird away and locked the cottage up for three days.

They told Aurora that the bird '_might carry an illness_', and that she was to stay away from ravens from then on.

"Well, they actually told her to stay away from _crows_," Diaval added in disgust, after he had finished relaying this development to Maleficent. He was fidgety, she noticed, showing agitation the way a bird might, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, his hair bristled as feathers do. "Nitwits can't even tell the difference," he grumbled.

While Diaval's vanity may indeed have been injured in the misidentification, Maleficent had a feeling that was not all that bothered her servant. He had taken to visiting the cottage at least once a day – unless called to check on Stephan. When Aurora was a baby, it had been to keep her from prematurely dying at the hands of her bumbling caretakers. As the child grew, the raven kept that excuse when visiting but Maleficent knew it was now more for companionship than for protection.

She considered putting a stop to it but, on occasion, she had hidden in the trees and watched the princess chase her avian playmate about, her face lit with happiness, and chose to let her have this one joy.

"Worried for your nestling?" She asked, trying not to sound as amused as she felt. She knew little of parental instinct, in any species, but from the beginning Diaval had put more effort into raising that little beast than all the pixies put together.

As she suspected, he was too worked up and answered before he thought. "Well, she's grown enough not to be in any real danger, but to be cooped up all alo-" he stopped himself, aware of what he was admitting to. "Mistress, I-"

She rolled her eyes, "I already knew, Diaval, and if I cared I would have stopped you." Maleficent bit back a smile when he visibly relaxed; surely he didn't think she was so short-tempered, after all the years they'd spent in each other's company.

"I have no doubt you'll be more careful in the future, though," she added.

Diaval nodded quickly, a grin spreading on his face. Maleficent couldn't help giving a small smile in return; the raven's emotions were so _genuine_ that they amused her, and, outside of tormenting the pixies, he was the one amusement _she_ had in her days. While she would never admit it, his company meant as much to her as it must to the young Aurora.

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I did wonder, the way Aurora says 'I remember you' to Diaval makes me think it's been a couple years since he last visited and why that might be...

As always, thank you for the comments/favorites!


	6. Expressions

This idea actually came from my previous fic. A comment I'd thrown in about how genuine Diaval is.

Enjoy!

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Perhaps what she liked most about Diaval was how _expressive_ he was.

While the raven was not without a playful streak, and more sarcasm than Maleficent felt was healthy, she couldn't say the raven had ever been dishonest, not ever. In fact, as far as his emotions were concerned, Diaval was the most straightforward, sincere being she had ever come across. So open he was with how he felt, never holding anything back, not even to her, that they almost seemed amplified. When he was sad, he was dismal, when he was angry, he was enraged. And when he was _happy_… when he was happy, he was ecstatic.

When Aurora awoke – indeed from a kiss, though not the one she or her servant had imagined – Maleficent had never seen so much happiness in one room, not for many years if ever in her life. Diaval had kept to the corner, obviously not wanting to intrude, but eventually she and Aurora turned their attention towards leaving and found him there, beaming, unshed tears glistened in his black eyes. Aurora bounded to him and he embraced his nestling, and Maleficent thought his jaw _must_ ache from the grin he sported. He kissed the top of the princess's head - she found herself wondering if he, too, could have woke the girl - and then he looked at her.

The smile faded- no, not _faded_, exactly. It _softened_, and if anything he looked happier. From the warmth in his expression, Maleficent felt that, for once, she was the one with her emotions clearly painted on her face. Diaval knew, none better, what this meant to her; not just Aurora's awakening but that _she_ was the one who woke her. Absurdly, she wanted to look away, seeing his understanding, his unbridled _joy_ on her behalf was almost too much.

Then, over Aurora's head, he mouthed "I told you."

And the desire vanished. "You did not," she said, forgetting to be quiet too late. Aurora pulled away to look at Maleficent, confused, and Diaval laughed, nearly silent laughter that still managed to retain it's raucous quality. She rolled her eyes but kept her smile. When Diaval was happy, he could also be downright annoying. But she wasn't going to complain.

* * *

I, like Mal, love how expressive Diaval is. Even as a man, he doesn't have too many lines but you get his emotions very clearly all the while.

As always, thank you for the comments/favorites!


	7. The Sparkly is For You

This is quite a bit longer. Also the title is a reference to Tamora Pierce's Trickster series in which the love interest is a crow-turned-man.

Diaval's POV - In several parts. Enjoy!

* * *

The first time was an accident, mostly.

Diaval had found the jewel on a castle windowsill, apparently having broken off someone's ring, or necklace… or headpiece – ravens liked shiny things but these royal humans took it to an extreme, he thought – and had liked the shimmer of it. If he was going to be staying with Maleficent for a while, as it looked like he was, he might as well make the place homey. And nothing said homey to a bird like a bit of sparkle.

He hadn't counted on her noticing something so small, taking it from his beak before turning him into a man. He certainly hadn't counted on the first thing he'd said when she asked.

"Would you like it?"

His mistress raised her eyebrows. "What use would I have of it?" Although he knew she meant to intimidate him, underneath she sounded genuinely curious.

He remembered, vaguely at this point, that when they had met, she had worn more adornments – jeweled rings around her horns, beaded necklaces, rings, _earthier_ than the human extravagance, but lovely all the same. He didn't say that, though, instead shrugging. "Might look a bit impressive."

"It's a broken piece of shiny rock, Diaval," Maleficent said dismissively. Turning it over in her fingers all the same. "Did you actually _see_ anything before being distracted by it?" The subject was changed and Diaval continued his report.

The jewel hung at her throat the next day. Neither said anything about it.

...

The second time, he stole a ring from King Stephan, a large, gaudy stone imbedded in gold.

His mistress had had night terrors the night before, clawing at her back and crying, the king's name coming out in choked sobs of anger and betrayal, despair and loss. Even if it was only a trinket, nothing he would truly miss, it gave Diaval some pleasure to take something from the thieving man.

Dropping it on Maleficent's lap, he watched her pick it up and study it. Finally she looked back at him, her face sour, as if she had bitten something and didn't like the taste.

"It's not my style," she said. "Do what you wish with it."

Slightly disappointed – he had been so _proud_ of it – Diaval nodded and picked it up again.

"And Diaval," Maleficent called when he was a few branches up from where she sat. He cawed a response, looking down. She was watching him, a mischievous look in her green-gold eyes. "Don't hesitate to take more."

And he didn't.

...

From then on, he brought her anything he stole from the castle. Sometimes loose or broken jewels, found scattered or unwanted, other times entire necklaces, rings, pins, beautiful, sparkly things. He looked for darker colors, as he learned her preferences, or things that matched her eyes and her magic – the rest he kept for himself, later bringing to the young princess Aurora.

Diaval's mistress continued to feign indifference to the gifts, but more often than not she would hold out her hand when he landed, awaiting the newest bauble before turning him to a man. He knew Maleficent wouldn't admit to being flattered, and he told himself he didn't mind. Years of serving had given him an aptitude for reading her stoic expressions, and could see the smile tucked into the corner of her mouth or in the sparkle in her eyes. And he was content with that.

* * *

People talk a lot about Diaval bringing Mal pretty things, but I don't see people mention where he gets them. I like the idea of him continually stealing jewelry from the palace during any of his visits.

Hope you enjoyed! As always, thank you for the comments/favorites!


	8. Mine

I'm not 100% where I was going with this one. But I like where it went.

* * *

Ravens were naturally territorial, fiercely loyal birds - loyal to their group, their unkindness, loyal to their mates, loyal to their nestlings.

This also meant ravens could be very, _very_ possessive.

Diaval didn't consider himself as such, at least not at _first_. After all, currently he didn't have an unkindness, a mate, or a nestling. His days were spent spying on the castle, reporting back to the dark faerie who had saved him. He was loyal to her, of course, but it was different, born out of an obligation.

But years passed. Diaval's loyalty to his mistress became less from his promise and more from a protectiveness he had come to feel for her - protectiveness that grew with the more of her past he unearthed. She told him little, but what he knew deeply upset him. Being wingless would have hurt enough but from someone she had loved... ravens were loyal birds, _betrayal_ was not something they understood, and Diaval found himself hating King Stefan nearly as much as Maleficent did for the harm he had done to his mistress.

As little Aurora grew in grace and beauty, Maleficent grew gentler, warmer. And as she as she softened, Diaval's protectiveness joined together with a companionship of sorts, and a desire to keep her... _safe_, he supposed. Diaval did think Maleficent occasionally needed looking after; she put so much of herself into defending the Moors, but even at ease she rarely slept or ate. And as far as he could tell, he was the only one she had.

She teased him about that, sometimes. Especially as his time was further divided in attempting to parent the human nestling.

"Perhaps I _had_ ought to get another servant, if you're to spend all your days at that revolting cottage. Imagine the efficiency - one of you to watch the castle and another to keep the beastie alive."

Diaval had squawked his outrage at the idea - an awkward sound, as he was _human_ at the time. Another servant? They wouldn't know her, not as _he_ did. How would she possibly be able to trust a newcomer the way she surely trusted him? He thought to make any of these objections before he caught the glint in her eyes, not unlike the expression she wore when torturing the pixies. He scowled, not sure what frustrated him more; her mocking him, that he had fallen for her bait, or that the idea of _sharing_ his position with Maleficent had upset him so much.

He wasn't her mate. He was her servant. All the same, he was still _hers_, and she was _his_ mistress.

She laughed - _laughed_ at his indignant expression, laughed as if she had heard his thoughts. "Jealous little bird, aren't we? Well, I suppose one of you is about all I can handle as it is so you can stop bristling."

A wave of his mistress' hand and he was a raven, before he could possibly tell her that he was _not_ jealous. Loyal, albeit a bit territorial. Not jealous. She would laugh either way.

* * *

I like my male characters over-protective and jealous. Which is the opposite of how I like my men in real life. It's fun to write though.

As always, thank you for the comments/favorites!


	9. 5 Reasons Diaval Hates King Stefan

I'm really pleased with this one. I actually posted it as a one shot on AO3 because I like it so much. lol I hope you all like it, too. :)

* * *

**1\. Because he was a thief.**

Diaval hated Stefan from the first moment he had seen him, at the glittering coronation in the human castle. He guessed this man had angered his mistress somehow - why else would he be asked to watch him? But he knew nothing of the details or of the situation.

It was a subconscious thing, that hate. An instinct. Ravens knew what hawks looked like, knew the thieving look in their eye. Knew, intuitively, this one was dangerous. This one was not to be trusted. He would destroy your nests, kill your nestlings – the best action was to mob one, drive him away from your home. Though a human through and through, Diaval could not shake the feeling that underneath it all King Stefan was no different than a hawk.

Of course, he had no unkindness to help him, and even if he did a human hawk in a nest made of stone and glass would be far harder to mob.

Maleficent's reaction to the coronation only served to cement Diaval's hatred. A hawk, a thief, indeed. Paying for his crown with the suffering of another. Her fury burned cold, turning to a hardened determination and desire for revenge and he thought perhaps they would be able to drive off the thieving king, after all.

**2\. Because she loved him.**

He had hesitated to tell his mistress about the baby. Her reaction to Stefan's ascension to the throne had been so _much_, a burst of violent energy, anger and hatred radiating off of her. It had cooled since, never faded, but at least Diaval could be near her without feeling scorched.

Her reaction to the newborn princess was different. Diaval had watched his mistress carefully, awaited the explosion. But none came. Instead, he saw the pain, pain that had been hidden behind anger before, so stark in her bright eyes. Even more so because she was trying to hide it, trying not to feel this new level of betrayal, this idea that the man who had already hurt her so much still held power over her to hurt her more. He crippled her, grounded her forever, broken her trust and her heart, and still Diaval knew in that moment, she still loved him.

And for that, Diaval hated him all the more.

**3\. Because he's Aurora's father.**

Diaval adored the child. He hadn't meant to; he had meant only to do what his mistress asked of him. Watch the little beastie, keep her from dying before her sixteenth year. But he could not continue to feed her, rock her and care for her without some affection creeping in.

And he knew Maleficent cared, too, although she showed it differently. A softening in her expression, the more magical acts of soothing fevers or rescuing from cliff-edges, culminating in the nightly visits to the Moors. In the hurt she showed as he comforted her when they found it to be impossible to revoke the curse.

They had quarreled not long ago, his mistress saying she would never remove the curse – still claiming to hate Aurora due only to her relationship to the king.

Diaval understood that, in his own way. He, too, hated Aurora's relationship with Stefan. He hated that this sunny, lovely young girl belonged to that hawk. That, should the curse succeed or fail, there was still a chance that she would be returned to him. That Diaval's nestling might be stolen from him. That his Maleficent might lose the one happiness she had allowed herself.

**4\. Because he had fallen in love with her.**

Like his love for Aurora, Diaval hadn't planned on the feelings he had for his mistress. But just like with Aurora, his feelings didn't seem to care.

He _loved_ her. He loved her and he hated that he could not let himself love her, for her sake. He loved her and in his love for her he felt her pain as if for the first time. He had hated Stefan enough for the pain he had caused the innocent faerie. But now, _now_ it was more personal, and so much worse to hear her in agonized nightmares – still scarred from a betrayal over ten years passed.

Diaval hated Stefan because Stefan had had Maleficent's love, unguarded, had her heart, trusting and full. The hawk of a man had taken the love of the magnificent, beautiful faerie, the kind of love that Diaval would have given anything to receive – and would never receive – and torn it apart.

He hated Stefan because he knew, intuitively, that Maleficent did love him, too. He knew it in the way she listened to him, teased him, let her mask of cold indifference slip in his presence. He consoled himself in this; that he was more than a raven, a servant. He understood the pain that had been dealt to her, that it was amazing enough that she had allowed Aurora into her injured heart. Never would Diaval blame her for that.

The blame belonged to the one who wronged her, and Diaval intended to hate him for the rest of his life.

**5\. Because sometimes he doesn't.**

It was a cruel, selfish thought, that tended to sneak up on him on restless nights. Nights when his mistress has had a night terror, or not bothered sleeping at all, wandering the moors alone, forbidding him to follow her. The rare order meant she was more shaken, more upset than she would let even him see. Diaval considered following her more than once, but, unlike some, he intended to keep her trust.

He would try to think of something else, something small or trivial, something unrelated to how he loved her, how he would do anything at all to comfort her, give anything to be with her for the rest of his days.

If it had not been for Stefan, he would never have met her.

That is, if it had not been for Maleficent's need for wings, he likely would be dead in a farmer's net. He hadn't truly joined into an unkindness of his own at the time; would anyone noticed one less raven? Would anyone have cared? Diaval doubted it. And even so, even if he had managed to avoid angry farmers with angrier dogs… he had been human too long now, the idea of living as a raven the rest of his life – no Maleficent, no Aurora – it hurt to imagine it.

Diaval hated that he was almost grateful – _grateful_ for the injury done to his mistress, his _love_, for his own selfish desire to be near her.

If not for Stefan he wouldn't have met Maleficent, and he swore two things: he would never forgive the hawk for the pain he had caused her, and he would use knowing her to heal her, comfort her, love her properly, everyday that she kept him at her side.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed. I've been wanting to write this one for a while, and it worked out better than expected.

As always, thank you for the comments/favorites!


	10. Birthday Tradition

I was actually begged for a new chapter - and how can I refuse that. I also had this one 99% done anyways, but I hadn't been sure where to put it. So here it is :)

Enjoy!

* * *

Maleficent was glaring at him, which was never a good sign.

"No."

"Mistress-"

"_No_, I am not going." She repeated, crossing her arms over her chest and leveling Diaval with a cold glare. "I am perfectly satisfied with your reports. As long as the beast isn't prematurely dying, I have no need to see her."

"It's her _birthday_," he said, plaintively.

She laughed, a bitter mocking sound. "Is that supposed to mean something to me? Let her celebrate with those nitwits she calls her aunts."

He had to smile, both at her seemingly constant frustration with Aurora's guardians – not that it was without good reason – and also for the prompt she had unknowingly given him. "They've forgotten."

"Excuse me?"

"Her birthday," Diaval said, rubbing the back of his neck. "At least, far as I could tell – they've been carrying on as if it were any day."

Maleficent's frown deepened, to his amusement. "They may have something planned for later…"

"You mean you really think they're smart enough to keep something a secret?"

She was still scowling but Diaval saw her eyes twinkle with approval. She was a horrible influence, really; he was never incredibly fond of the pixies and their failings at raising the poor baby, but he used to be above mocking them. Still, his mistress smiling, even so slightly, was satisfying.

"Well, they're not so very stupid to forget, surely… after all it's her fourth birthday. They must know it by now. Surely…" but she sounded very unsure.

Diaval bored of her attempts at defense when they both knew the truth. "Oh, _come_ on," he said. He grabbed her wrist and tugged, prepared to drag her to that cottage if he must.

And then he realized what he had done.

He froze, and very slowly turned back to Maleficent, flinching at her glare – all humor gone from her eyes, she looked downright _murderous_. She hated to be touched, he _knew_ she hated to be touched, he knew she had every reason to hate being touched. She had every right to be angry, and to express that however she saw fit. She did nothing for a long moment, and he realized he was still holding her wrist.

Dropping it quickly, he bowed his head. "Forgive me, mistress" he muttered. "I didn't think."

Still no magic touched him, no shift came, and he risked a glance back at his mistress. She rubbed her wrist absently. Her expression was still cold, but distant, no longer burning into him. She almost looked thoughtful.

"Diaval."

"Y-yes?"

"When is your birthday, do you know?"

Definitely not what he had expected, but he answered dutifully. "I'm not entirely sure, mistress. It's not something that would have been celebrated and... The way time is marked is different for a raven than it is for man, or fae I suppose…"

"I see," she said.

Awkwardly, he added, "I know it's late in the autumn. After the leaves have fallen but before the first snow."

"I see," she said again. She still sounded thoughtful, a bit of her cold seeming to thaw off her.

Feeling a little bolder, Diaval ventured. "And yours?"

"Summer," she answered promptly. "We didn't mark the exact day, but the season."

"'We'?"

"My parents," she said, and then blinked, as if surprised at what she said. Shaking her head she added, "Fae are fond of celebration, so birthdays were normally celebrated along with a seasonal event, like the first snow or the blooming of a particular flower. I had been given wreathes of cornflowers, sunflowers..." She was quiet suddenly, as though something had occurred to her suddenly. "Diaval," she said. She was smiling again, actually_ smiling_. Diaval stared.

"Yes?"

"I have something for you to do."

* * *

That evening a young Aurora was toddling around the front garden while her aunts argued about what to eat for dinner, when a raven came swooping down to land on the rotting fence. In his beak was a small bouquet of flowers, crocuses and bluebells. She giggled, taking it from the bird and bringing it into the house.

She received the same bouquet for her birthday every year. She never questioned it.

* * *

Aurora's birthday has been decided to be in mid-spring. I can't remember if the movie supports this or not but idc. I have decided. lol

This was fun and cute and I still love these two/three.


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